Dana White has revealed he ignored calls from his inner circle to reject Donald Trump’s request for help during his first bid to become President in 2016.
In a wide-ranging profile of the UFC supremo by TIME Magazine that was published on Tuesday, White discussed his ties to Trump, the upcoming UFC event at the White House and why he hates ‘weakness’ in men.
White and Trump have been allies for years with the first UFC event under his leadership taking place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in 2001 – an event Trump described as ‘the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen’.
Trump later asked White to speak at the Republican National Convention in 2016, where he eventually won the presidential nomination for the first time. Despite please from his inner circle to reject it, White took to the stage.
‘Everybody said, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it”,’ says White.
‘It was about more than “You don’t want to get into politics.” The bigger one was “He’s never gonna win.” And I was like, “Well, whether he wins or not, the guy’s been a good friend to me”.’
Dana White has revealed he ignored calls from his inner circle to stay clear of Donald Trump
The UFC supremo is the cover star of the latest edition of TIME Magazine
Trump was interviewed for the piece and commented: ‘He’s a very good speaker, very inspirational-type speaker. I know guys who are successful, they can’t speak.’
White also played a huge role in helping Trump regain the White House in 2024. He reveals he had a ‘philosophy’ that if Trump ‘stayed on Fox News, he couldn’t win the election’.
Instead, he gathered up podcasters and influencers to expose a new audience to the now-president that powered him back to the presidency.
Trump appeared on shows with the Nelk Boys, Will Compton and Taylor Lewan of ‘Bussin’ with the Boys’, Adin Ross, Theo Von and, most notably, Joe Rogan.
When asked how significant White was to Trump’s campaign to beat Kamala Harris, he replied: ‘Very important. He introduced me to people I never heard of, young kids.
‘I mean, I was being interviewed by 20-year-old kids. I’m saying, “Where the hell did you meet these people?” They’re called influencers.
‘But I did a lot. I became friendly with some of them. They’re nice kids, and they do have a big audience, and everything helps.’
White also admits he is ‘unapologetically masculine’ and that tracks when you consider he is the brains behind one of the most brutal forms of entertainment in sports.
White spoke in support of Trump at the 2016 RNC and helped him win the White House in 2024
White, who serves on the board of Meta, revealed why Mark Zuckerberg left him shocked
He admits he has no time for men voicing their concerns about their mental health.
‘Talking about it publicly, I just feel like it opens the door to make young men think that it’s OK to just f***ing go, “Oh, I’m having mental [health issues].”
‘Handle it behind closed doors. Don’t show that weakness to anybody.
On the term ‘toxic masculinity’, White adds: ‘What is toxic masculinity?… Who has it? Who’s too masculine?…There’s a difference between being a douchebag and being masculine.’
‘There’s nothing I hate worse than men that don’t act like men… so if that puts me in the manosphere, then I guess I’m in.’
One of the many positions White holds away from UFC is a seat on the board of Meta.
He was elected in January 2025 and the company’s billionaire founded Mark Zuckerbeg is somebody White seriously admires.
Time says White puts Zuckerberg ‘in the same category of alpha role models as Trump, Carl Icahn, and Michael Jordan’ and admits he’s been left shocked by Zuckerberg’s personality.
‘What I didn’t realize about Mark until I got on the board,’ White says, ‘is Zuckerberg might be one of the biggest killers in the history of killers.’
White was caught in controversy on New Years Eve in 202 after footage emerged that showed the UFC chief slapping his wife, Anne (R), during a conflict in a night club
White also addressed the night he was caught on camera slapping his wife, Anne, during an argument in a club in Mexico on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
Footage showed him appearing to say something to Anne, who reacted by slapping him. He then slapped her across the face before the fracas was broken up.
In the weeks that followed, White issued a groveling apology and admitted there was ‘no excuse’ for his actions at El Squid Roe in Cabo San Lucas.
Speaking to TIME about that incident, White added: ‘It’s just one of those things where you have to look at yourself, blame nobody but you.
‘How the f*** did that happen? And how do we make sure that never happens again?’
